


Hit Refresh

by costumejail



Series: Android AU [5]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: (within the context of the brainwashing i PROMISE this wouldnt normally happen), Android!Kobra Kid, Android!Party Poison, Androids, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brainwashing, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, Protective Siblings, Reprogramming might be a better word for it, Threats of Violence, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26341642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/costumejail/pseuds/costumejail
Summary: Party Poison gets some wires crossed and the Kobra Kid has to make some hard decisions to get things back to normal.
Relationships: Agent Cherri Cola & Fun Ghoul & Jet Star & Kobra Kid & Party Poison (Danger Days), Agent Cherri Cola/Kobra Kid (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul & Jet Star & Kobra Kid & Party Poison (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (Danger Days)
Series: Android AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914121
Comments: 22
Kudos: 50





	Hit Refresh

**Author's Note:**

> This one has some kinda heavy stuff so I'll elaborate on the tags!
> 
> \- There's threats of serious violence/death and some vaguely described actual violence (choking and wrestling)  
> \- Brainwashing, nothing graphic and for a non-pov character but it comes with distress for everyone involved  
> \- The domestic violence tag is just there because the threats of violence are from the brainwashed party to their partner but they are so far from in control of themself that they don't know it's their partner  
> \- Also, there are some implications to do with things being done with someone's best interests at heart but not asking for their consent to do them (again, brainwashing is tricky)
> 
> Feel free to comment or [message me](sleevesareforloser.tumblr.com/ask) if you want further clarification!

Kobra almost didn’t know anything was wrong. He was in the dining room, watching Jet Star and Cherri Cola drink coffee and exchange jokes when a commotion rose up from the bedroom. Kobra tuned it out, not particularly interested in hearing what his sibling and their boyfriend were getting up to on a lazy afternoon when he noticed that Jet and Cherri had gone quiet. Kobra tuned back just in time to hear Fun Ghoul yell.

“Pois? What the f—” Ghoul’s voice cut off with a harsh cry and all three ‘joys jumped up from the booth running to Party Poison and Ghoul’s bedroom.

Jet got there first, crashing through the door with Cherri hot on his heels. Once inside the door, though, they both stopped dead in their tracks. The Kobra Kid pushed between them and too, froze.

Party had Ghoul by the throat, one hand tight around his neck and the other flipped open at his wrist, exposing the ray gun embedded there. He was pointing the muzzle at Ghoul’s temple.

Ghoul was clearly unable to breathe, he had his hands locked around Party’s wrist and was struggling, fighting to free himself from his partner’s grip. Kobra already knew his efforts would be useless. He and Party weren’t made to give up a target. Party’s face was blank. Emotionless. Cold. Then they locked their gaze on Kobra and a light flashed behind their eyes.

“K09EV,” Kobra felt his skin prickle where the number was etched into him permanently, “Target apprehended. Contact Exterminator Korse for extraction protocol.”

“Party,” Kobra edged forward, ignoring Cherri’s hushed gasp behind him. “That’s not who I am anymore. You know that.”

Something flickered across Party’s face, probably only Kobra recognized it for the confusion that it was. Not just confusion, a complete lack of recognition.

“K09EV, have you been compromised? Initiate non-verbal communication.”

Party loosened his grip on Ghoul’s neck just slightly, Kobra heard him steal a breath in while Party flicked his fingers in the sequence that should have activated his comms. If Ghoul hadn’t disabled them months ago at Party’s request. Confusion flickered across Party's face when he figured out that his comms weren't working.

Taking another small step forward brought Kobra almost to within reach of Ghoul. He knew he could take Party in a fight. Kobra was a newer model and hadn’t been in the Zones — slowly deteriorating without standard maintenance — for as long as Party had. Besides, Party wasn’t engineered for combat in the same way the Kobra was. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t snap Ghoul’s neck in an instant or fire a plasma blast through his head without even blinking.

Kobra didn’t know what had happened to send Party back to their earliest programming, but he didn’t have time to figure it out now. Kobra ignored the way he could easily relax into the one-track mindset that told him to finish his mission. This was his own mission that he’d decided on, and it was to save his best friend’s life.

“P9U3J,” Kobra hated to use that name. Not even a name, that _designation_ for his sibling, but Party clearly had no idea that he was Party. That he wasn’t just a weapon for BL/ind anymore. And that meant Kobra had to talk to him like they’d never been anything but a weapon. “Hand over the target. Korse has enacted protocol H5CS1.”

The one where Party would let Kobra dispose of the target while they made their getaway. 

“H5C…” Party muttered under his breath, tone disbelieving. But still, he flipped his hand back onto his wrist and loosened his grip on Ghoul. “That protocol has been rendered—”

Kobra didn’t give them a chance to finish. He darted forward, grabbing Party’s arm in both hands and twisting, a move that was sure to have them bitching at him later — if they got a later — for disabling his arm’s mechanisms, but allowed him to snatch Ghoul from Party’s grip. He tossed Ghoul back, towards Jet and Cherri and smoothly stepped behind Party, twisting their arms behind their back and locking his elbow around their throat. Party struggled and snarled, thrashing in Kobra’s unyielding grip.

“K09EV, let go of me,” despite Party’s frantic movements, his voice was, well, robotically even. “This is not—”

“First of all,” Kobra succeeded in wrestling Party up against the wall and pressing them into it. “My name’s Kobra. Second? We haven’t followed protocol for years.”

Party threw himself back hard, but Kobra just leaned forward more and turned his head to direct Jet and Cherri. Well, just Jet. Cherri had vanished with Ghoul at some point during the confrontation, and Kobra couldn’t blame him.

“Jet. Do we still have those restraints from when Party brought me in?”

Jet nodded shakily, a hand pressed to their mouth.

“Go get them.”

Party thrashed again, nearly dislodging Kobra’s grip.

“Fast.”

Jet ran from the room, Kobra tracked their movements through the diner to the other bedroom where they spent far too long — in Kobra’s opinion — rummaging around the room. Then their footsteps returned, bringing Jet right up behind Kobra.

“Here,” Kobra shifted slightly to the side, allowing Jet to snap the restraints onto Poison’s wrists. Then Kobra keyed in the activation code. As soon as he pressed the last button, Party froze. Not intentionally, of course. The restraints did more than just hold Party’s wrists together, they completely disrupted the power source to most of their drive gears, rendering them near-totally immobile.

Kobra thought Poison might never forgive him for this.

He stepped back. Poison stayed pressed against the wall, breath whirring rapidly as he clearly tried to fight the restraints. When he finally gave up, there was no physical change, but his eyes slid shut and his voice had the barest sliver of emotion in it when he asked, “Am I to be terminated?”

“Witch, Party, no!” Kobra had nearly forgotten that Jet was there until they stepped forward to wrap Party up from behind in the world’s most unwanted hug. “We’re going to talk. We’re gonna work this out.”

Party ignored Jet, “K09— Kobra. What are my orders?”

“Unless you’re gonna snap out of it just because I told you to, none. I’m sorry I put the restraints on you. I’m gonna pick you up now.”

Kobra nudged Jet to the side then lifted his sibling away from the wall. He carried him into the dining room, where Ghoul and Cherri were huddled together in a booth.

“How are they?” Ghoul perked his head up from Cherri’s shoulder, then dropped it again when Poison swore viciously at Kobra as he deposited them in a chair.

“I’m gonna call Alexa,” replied Kobra. The city rebel was a mechanic and usually had all kinds of intel on the city’s ‘droid developments. He pressed his finger to the radio control behind his ear and dialled in her frequency. 

Jet shooed him out of the room and Kobra obeyed, figuring that he didn’t want Party hearing what she would have to say.

“Alexa, Kobra Kid, Alexa.”

Static erupted inside Kobra’s mind, a second later calming to the Juvee Hall’s slightly-distorted signal, “Babysnakes! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Party’s on the fritz. What’s it like inside the City?”

“Situation normal. What’s wrong with ‘im?”

“They,” Kobra leaned back through the door just in time to see Party snap their teeth at Jet when they tried to brush their hair back. “Regressed.”

“Well, have you tried turning him off and back on again?” Alexa erupted into laughter, calming quickly when Kobra sent a burst of static at her in annoyance. And maybe a bit of panic. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll take a check through, see if the Batts dropped an update or somethin’.”

“Can you ask—”

“Yeah, I’ll get Dottie to check if your model had one comin’. You tell that boytoy of yours how to shut you down if things glitch up?”

“Yeah. He didn’t like it.”

“Well don’t let things go rusty just because he wasn’t willing to make an executive decision.”

“I said he didn’t like it. I didn’t say he wouldn’t do it.”

“Copy that. Anythin’ else, Kiddo?”

“Keep running.”

“Call you soon.”

Kobra deactivated his radio and reentered the dining room. Nothing had really changed, save for Jet was now seated on Ghoul’s other side, offering him the comfort that he so obviously needed.

“Alexa said,” Kobra shot a glance at Poison, who looked barely bored with what control over their muscles they had. “She hadn’t heard anything. Just to keep him c—” Kobra knew how harsh this was going to sound. “Contained until she knew more.”

“What does that mean, Kobes?” Ghoul spoke up shakily.

“Keeping the restraints on for now.” Dropping to his knees, Kobra couldn’t miss the way Poison’s jaw tensed when Kobra put a hand on their knee. “Sorry, Party.”

“I’m gonna grab his charger,” Jet stood, pressing their forehead to Ghoul’s before heading into the bedroom to grab it.

Kobra didn’t argue, although he saw both pros and cons to leaving Poison on until Alexa could call back. On one hand, he wouldn’t have to go to the dark place. On the other hand, being held immobile for a long period of time was one of the most popular interrogation methods used on ‘droids in the city for a reason.

When Jet returned, they mumbled an apology to Poison when they bent to attach the charger. Poison closed their eyes and Kobra ached knowing how much they hated this, even if they weren’t themself.

Hopefully, Alexa would radio soon.

With the afternoon’s commotion more or less sorted out, there was nothing really to do in the Diner. The Kid, thankfully, had napped through the ordeal, and everyone did their best job of holding it together when they reached for Party’s still form with one uncomprehending hand and a babble that barely sounded like “Party.” Cherri quickly swept them away, saying he was going to drop them off at the RadioShack. 

No one argued.

When Cherri returned, the crew sat in silence, scattered throughout the dining room, sneaking glances at Party through red-rimmed eyes. Jet bullied Ghoul into checking on the bruises decorating his throat at one point, but even that was done with as few words as possible. Jet and Ghoul let Cherri and Kobra shoo them off to bed a short while later. The night passed in much the same way, Ghoul woke up around sunrise, and then barely convinced Cherri and Kobra to go to bed themselves. As much as Kobra didn’t want to let his sibling out of his sight, he could tell his battery was getting low from how little movement he’d done that day and figured that with the restraints on, even if Jet didn’t wake up soon, Ghoul could supervise while Cherri slept and Kobra recharged. He didn’t try to sleep, though, just idly ran fingers through Cherri’s hair as his charger softly hummed on the windowsill.

Turns out it was a very good thing that Kobra didn’t put himself to sleep when another strangled cry rose, this time from the dining room.

Kobra ripped the charger from the back of his neck, mostly-gently shoving Cherri off of his lap and running to the dining room. A horribly familiar sight greeted him.

Party had Ghoul immobilized, this time kneeling on his chest while Ghoul kicked and tore at Party’s hands. Party didn’t even look up when Kobra’s door crashed open and Kobra knew that this time, he wouldn’t back down. There was no hesitation in Kobra’s mind when he threw himself at Poison. With a nasty crunch, he collided with his sibling, knocking him off of Ghoul and landing on top of him. Poison scrabbled at Kobra with crazed hands, but Kobra barely noticed. He drove two fingers between Party’s ribs. 

Party shut down.

Kobra knew that they’d never forgive him for this.

Panting, Kobra slumped off of his sibling and looking over to see Ghoul, choking on the floor next to him. They locked eyes and Ghoul’s face crumpled.

“What did you do?”

“I— I put him in shutdown mode.”

“Are they—?”

“He’ll wake up.” 

Kobra moved closer and pulled Ghoul into his arms. Ghoul shook and tried to swallow anguished noises, failing in a way that pulled both Jet and Cherri from their respective bedrooms. The two of them froze at the sight, faces identical masks of grief.

“Only temporary,” assured Kobra. Then he bent his head to murmur to Ghoul, “What happened?”

Between sobs, Ghoul told Kobra about how he’d been watching Party. How they’d opened their mouth and spoken in Party’s voice. _His_ Party’s voice. How they’d said they were back, how they didn’t know what happened, how they couldn’t move and they were _scared_ and “Ghoulie, please, it’s me. Ghoulie, please, let me go.” Ghoul wiped his cheeks as he continued, explaining how he’d been convinced, how Party had begged to be released. 

How as soon as Ghoul took the restraints off, Party pinned him to the floor and wrapped his hands around Ghoul’s throat, nothing behind his cold eyes when he tried to crush the life from his boyfriend.

Ghoul dissolved into tears again and Jet stepped up, pulling him from Kobra’s lap and carrying him off to bed again. Gently, Cherri knelt behind Kobra, smoothing a hand through his hair and asking, “What now, Kobes?”

“I—” Kobra wasn’t made to give orders, not like this. He didn’t know how to calculate the possible outcomes and he didn’t know how to assess risk factors and he didn’t know any other alternatives. “I have to turn them back on.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just— Wish me luck?”

Cherri nodded, pressing a kiss to Kobra’s forehead and sliding a strand of bad luck beads around his wrist. They nestled against the set that Party had given him from his own collection when Kobra officially joined them all in the diner, after a painful week of unlearning all his previous coding. 

With a prayer to DESTROYA, Kobra brought Party out of their shutdown mode. Slowly, Party booted up. First beeping while the power started flowing from their battery, then the whirring of their breath, then they opened their eyes and sat up.

“Kobes? What happened? I—”

Kobra crushed his sibling in a hug and could have wept. They were back. He knew they were. Party’s hands found their way to Kobra’s back and they held Kobra tight, even though they clearly didn’t know why Kobra was acting like this.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.” Kobra didn’t know who he was reassuring more as he murmured soft words into Party’s hair. “You’re back. It’s you.”

He could tell. Everything from the way Party’s hands moved to the tremor in his voice to the soft glow in his eyes when Kobra pulled back to look at him. There was no faking this.

Cherri called Ghoul and Jet in, and they all piled onto Party as one, wrapping them in a series of tight hugs and whispered apologies and tearful kisses for foreheads, cheeks, and — in Ghoul’s case — lips.

Eventually, the crew fell back from one another, lying across the dining room floor and lightly holding each other by the foot, the wrist, any small amount of touch they could maintain.

Then Kobra felt a transmission come in. He pushed Party’s hand from his hair gently and sat up.

“It’s Alexa,” explained Kobra. He saw Jet and Cherri turn to explain this development to Party and tuned them out. “Alexa?”

“How’s Pois? I think I figured out the—”

“He’s fine. He’s back. Fuck, Lex. He’s okay.”

“... Oh! They’re fi— Good! That’s good!” Alexa seemed genuinely relieved, “What… did you do?”

“I,” Kobra looked at his family — gathered around his sibling, yet obviously eavesdropping on him — and half-smiled. “I turned him off and back on again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! Big thanks to [Pi @ghostxraven](ghostxraven.tumblr.com) for letting me bounce ideas off of them ily. Feel free to leave a comment or come chat with me on [tumblr!](sleeversareforlosers.tumblr.com)


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